


heir.

by kobusrain



Category: BEYOOOOONDS (Band), Hello! Project
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Gen, Unsettling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobusrain/pseuds/kobusrain
Summary: As the king and sole ruler of the castle, she was given an heir.
Kudos: 5





	heir.

She ruled the kingdom on her own, as a young King. 

While it was tough work, Yuhane had been preparing for any situation ever since she was little. As the only heir to the throne, she had a lot of expectations to meet and tasks to fulfil, but Yuhane earnestly did her best to become a well-respected King once she was able to take over her place. No kingdom waged war with her, but rather she tried to help out the kingdoms in need, especially with the unsettling amount of kingdoms suddenly losing their rulers. However, as respected and loved as she was, the townsfolk and villagers from other kingdoms worried about her not having any heir to the throne. 

“Your Highness, you must understand the importance of marrying someone, in order to produce an offspring and have an heir to the throne,” said her advisor, Kurumi. The woman looked rather stressed, as she knew Yuhane would only dismiss her once more. It was clear they have had this conversation many times, and each time, Yuhane would only reject the idea of marrying someone, no matter who it is. Kurumi sighed, as at that point Yuhane had already stopped listening. 

“... Leave now, Kurumi. I wish to be alone,” ordered Yuhane, turning away from the older woman. Now alone in her throne room, aside from the few guards she had standing, Yuhane was finally able to produce a sigh. “I get that she is my advisor, but she’s starting to act like a  _ mother _ to me,” she murmured to herself. Finally breaking her posture, Yuhane slumped against her throne and sighed once more. 

While she did like being King, she did hate the few rules that she knew she had to eventually follow. Kurumi was right, and she knew that. This was merely the childishness in Yuhane still left. 

When she thought she could relax, however, Kurumi came back. This time, the advisor was leading a young woman whose face was mostly concealed by the black hood she wore. The young woman carried a bag full of fruits and flowers, and what looked to be a small child bundled up with a blanket in her arms. Yuhane immediately assumed that this woman was a peddler. 

“King, this peddler wanted to see you for  _ something important _ , or as she says,” said Kurumi, with a firm tone. She did not take well with the peddler’s sudden appearance, seeing as it was late at night and she knew Yuhane needed to get rest soon. 

Yuhane waved a hand. “Thank you, Kurumi. You are dismissed,” she said. Kurumi bowed, and took her leave once more. The peddler looked almost relieved that she did. 

The peddler took off her hood, revealing a face that looked younger than Yuhane, with big beady eyes staring up at her. However, her face had been full of scars that almost scared the young King to see. “Your Highness. My name is Shimakura Rika,” the peddler started, bowing carefully as to not drop the contents of her bag nor the child she carried. “I only came here to ask you of one very important favour.” 

Yuhane was not able to answer as Rika set her bag down on the floor and unveiled the blanket that covered the child. As soon as she did, Yuhane found herself staring at what she now thought was the most beautiful being she ever saw. 

A young five year old child, quiet but with such a breathtaking visage, stared back at her with an innocent gaze. Yuhane was speechless, as she observed the child’s features more. Rika took this as an opportunity to keep talking. “This is my little sister, Minami. You see, we recently lost our home, and I must keep working. I have no other relatives to take care of Minami while I do so, so if it’s okay, can she stay in the castle for the time being? At least until I’m ready to take care of her once again?”

All reason left Yuhane, that she abruptly stood up from her throne and approached the woman and the child. “Of course. I honour your decision to continue working for both yours and the child’s sake,” she chimed, opening her arms up. “I will take Minami until your return. You can be assured that she’ll be given the utmost care in my castle.” 

Rika seemed so delighted with the King’s response. It had been  _ that _ easy to convince Yuhane, that she eagerly handed the indifferent child to her without another thought. “Oh, thank you, King Yuhane. I promise I will try my best to come back to Minami as soon as I can,” she exclaimed, bowing once more before snatching her bag up from the floor. Without another word, Rika rushed out of the castle with a triumphant smile on her face. 

After hearing the doors close, something told Yuhane that Rika was never coming back for the child. 

But Yuhane did not care. She now had the most beautiful child in her arms. It solved the problem that Kurumi has been bugging her with. If Rika was not coming back for Minami, then she now had an heir to raise as her own. With ease, Yuhane raised Minami up and stared at her innocent eyes once more, with a toothy grin. 

“Minami…. Welcome to your castle.”

* * *

Yuhane lost count of the days she spent with Minami. 

The child was still silent as ever, and just as indifferent as when they first met each other, but Yuhane taught her everything there was to learn about running a kingdom. As soon as she had taken Minami under her care, she had completely shut herself away from the other people in the castle, Kurumi included, just so she could spend time with the beautiful child. Whenever someone tried to approach her, she would only dismiss them so quickly that they are not given a chance to speak. 

She had Minami everywhere, and still ran the kingdom from a distance, but she could not tell the growing concern that her castle’s staff had. 

It was only a matter of time before one of them had to knock some sense into Yuhane. 

The King and the child were in the garden’s that day, admiring the flowers. Yuhane carried the child, letting her stare at the beautiful irises. “Aren’t they beautiful, Minami?” she asked the child, but got no response. It was okay with Yuhane, however, to not get even an ounce of acknowledgement. 

Unbeknownst to Yuhane, Kurumi entered the gardens, frustration plastered on her face, as she approached the King. “Your Highness! This madness has to stop!” bellowed Kurumi, harshly turning Yuhane to face her. The King was confused. 

“Kurumi, have I not told you to leave me alone when I’m spending time with Minami?” she quickly returned, straightening up as she cradled the child close to her shoulder. “What madness are you talking about? Are you not the one who told me that I needed an heir to the throne? That is exactly what I got, and I know that the peddler will not come back for her any longer. What is wrong with me raising a child?”

Kurumi appeared genuinely taken aback by Yuhane’s statement. She froze in her spot, though only stared at her liege with slight fear in her eyes. “... Yuhane,” she finally said after a moment of silence. At that moment, Kurumi did not care if she was disrespecting the King. 

“You aren’t taking care of a child. That is a  _ lifeless doll _ .” 

Yuhane paused, eyebrows scrunching as if Kurumi was speaking a different language just then. “Stop fooling around, Kurumi. Why would you call Minami a lifeless doll?” she stammered, though the deadpan expression that Kurumi wore on her face told her that this was not a joke at all. Kurumi snatched Minami away from Yuhane’s hands, and replaced it with a journal. 

“This  _ Minami _ has been dead for ten years. She was turned into a doll, possibly by that peddler that came here, and is brought around to different kingdoms to cause the royal family to be driven to insanity, much like you are now. Do you not understand, Yuhane? This doll is  _ cursed _ , yet it always somehow goes under the radar. This explains why our partner kingdoms have been suddenly losing their kings and queens,” explained Kurumi, jabbing a finger at the journal that Yuhane opened up. 

It was a documentary, telling the reader of the endearing peddler that comes along late at night to bring a doll to the castle. The curse, which bound the unfortunate soul into having their perception of reality twisted to the point where they believed the doll to be a real person, starts the moment they lay eyes on the doll. It ruined several kingdoms, many of which were the ones that Yuhane desperately tried to help out as they were beyond repair. 

Yuhane suddenly felt her mind snapping, and everything became so clear. 

“Oh, Kurumi. I… I must apologize. How could I have fallen for such a trick…?” she murmured, rubbing her head. As she took a deep breath, she refused to look at the doll any longer, as she now knew it was nothing but a hollow shell of what used to be a person. “Please. Please get rid of it. I’m afraid the peddler might try this scheme with the other kingdoms that still have their rulers.” 

Slightly relieved, Kurumi bowed and smiled gently. “Alright… It’s good to have you back, Your Highness,” said the woman. She saw Yuhane return the smile, before she took her leave. Finally, things were at peace once more.

* * *

Kurumi made sure that the doll was completely broken. She stayed by the whole process, as the doll was shattered into several pieces and even burned. Finally, she ordered one of the servants to bury the pieces by the mountains, far from any kingdom. 

Yuhane’s kingdom was saved from the curse. After many apologies from Yuhane, everything soon went back to normal. 

However… 

“How dare they destroy my beloved little sister?” 

A voice echoed in the dark as a figure trudged through the mountains. Rika, who carried a shovel, began to dig out the area where the pieces of the doll had been buried under. “I’ll have to give it to them. Their way of getting rid of it was kind of original,” she laughed to herself. As she finally reached the doll, she smiled. 

She picked up a perfectly intact doll.

“Do they not know my power?”


End file.
